Description

There may be bias associated with mark–recapture experiments used to estimate age and growth of freshwater mussels. Using subsets of a mark–recapture dataset for Quadrula pustulosa, I examined how age and growth parameter estimates are affected by (i) the range and skew of the data and (ii) growth reduction due to handling. I compared predictions from von Bertalanffy growth models based on mark–recapture data with direct observation of mussel age and growth inferred from validated shell rings.